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Northern Pike Sport Fisheries In Interior Alaska

INTRODUCTION

Northern pike (Esox lucius), (also called northerns, pike, and jackfish) are a popular game fish found in the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. In Alaska, pike occur throughout the central, western, interior, and northern parts of the state. Except for a remnant population near Yakutat, they are not found in Southeast Alaska, Prince William Sound, Kodiak Island, or the Copper River drainage. Pike have only been found in isolated areas on the North Slope of Alaska.

Catching a large northern can be a tremendously exciting and satisfying fishing experience. Northern pike fishing is a year-round activity for many anglers in Interior Alaska, where opportunities to catch large fish of other species are limited.

Many anglers wish to learn where and how to fish for pike while others are curious about size and age structure of northern pike populations, location and timing of spawning, and the status of particular local stocks. A large proportion of the statewide harvest of pike is taken from waters of the Tanana River Valley. In fact, more than half of all the northern pike taken by Alaska's anglers (18,000 fish per year, on the average) come from the Tanana River Valley.

Sport fisheries biologists stationed in Fairbanks and Delta Junction are studying several Tanana and other Yukon drainage pike populations to try to define the key factors that control abundance and sustained yield. In the following sections, ADFG will try to answer some common questions that they have received concerning pike in the Tanana Valley and other parts of Interior Alaska.

At the end of this information AOJ will provide some additional tips for fishing which have proved to be effective on this species in Alaska.

Introduction

Distribution in the Tanana River Valley

Age & Size of Interior Alaska pike

Spawning Biology

Where Pike Hang Out

Status of Tanana River pike fisheries

The Minto Flats northern pike fishery

Pike Conservation in Alaska

How to Catch & Release Pike

Tackle & Techniques

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